2026 was a season of near misses for Shane Lowry.
It started on the DP World Tour at the Dubai Invitational, where Lowry held the lead on the final hole. But a meltdown on the 18th, where he put his ball in the water from the greenside bunker, meant it was a third-place finish for the Irishman.
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Then came the Cognizant Classic, where Lowry held a three-shot lead with three holes left. But again, he found the water and threw away his lead down the stretch.
Lowry was also in the mix at The Masters on Sunday after an incredible hole-in-one during his third round. An 80 on the final day meant it was a T30 finish in the end, in what was yet another disappointing finish.
He’s frequently putting himself in position to win, but has not been able to get it over the line this year. Fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington shared his thoughts on why that may be.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
What Padraig Harrington noticed about Shane Lowry this season
He might be winless this season, but Harrington says Lowry is playing the best golf of his career. They have played multiple practice rounds together this season, and prior to the Irish Open, where both men are competing, Harrington gave an honest assessment of Lowry’s game.
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He said, “Well, the thing with Shane, because I play quite a bit of golf with Shane, Shane has been playing great and not getting the results. Like, for him not to win in Dubai at the start of the year, you cannot, as a player looking on, I cannot tell you how unlucky, circumstantial, that bogey at the last was.
“Like for his tee shot to fall off the fairway into the first cut, dust, and no room at the back of the green for it to fall, that happens in golf. You can go on runs of things going against you.
“And it is tough for Shane because you never want to be playing well, you know, and not getting the results. It’s tough when you’re not playing well and not getting the results, but Shane has been playing — he’s taken the money off me every day this year, I’d say.
“He’s playing beautiful golf. It’s hard to stay patient, and he has to. It’s hard not to get frustrated. You know, it is very much professional golf, and he could go on a run where he doesn’t play very well, and get a couple of wins, and just a couple of things happen at the right time. We just never really know with golf. You’ve just got to stick at it.
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“In my own experience, you know, I think I’ve counted up, at this stage, I’ve just about surpassed wins to second place in my career, so somewhere along the lines, like about — I’ve lost count, I’m at 44 wins and 42 second places.
“So some of those second places I messed up. Some of them, I definitely, you know, did the wrong stuff. Sometimes I played well and finished second. Sometimes somebody else played well and beat me fair and square.
“So you just have to keep your head in there all the time. Just keep doing and keep playing. It’s very easy to say it; hard to do it. Hard to stay patient.
“Definitely, for me, from the outside, he’s a much better golfer. He’s the best golfer I’ve seen, version of him I’ve seen, this year, all the way through his game. He’s really very, very comfortable with his game and what he’s doing, and the best version I’ve seen of him.
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“So, yes, he has to stay patient and hope that he gets that run. But you just don’t know when it’s happening, and all golfers go through it where they feel like they are not getting the rewards for the good work. It’s a crazy game.
“And the other side of it, you could be playing terrible and feeling sorry for yourself. It’s just this is the nature of our game. The wins don’t happen anywhere near as often as you think you are going to get them, so when they happen, you’d better enjoy them.”
Shane Lowry reacts to Padraig Harrington’s comments about him
Harrington’s comments were put to Lowry afterward, and he agreed with what his fellow countryman had to say.
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Lowry explained that sometimes you can play bad golf and score better than when you’re playing well.
He said, “Yeah, it’s interesting because I feel like when things are going your way, you come off the golf course and you go, got a lot out of that round or I finished sixth when I feel like maybe I could have finished 12th.
“But when things are not going your way, you feel like you come off the golf course and you shoot the worst score you can every day. I feel like that’s been happening a lot a little over the last few months.
“I’m not a stats guy, really, that much, but I really have to, if I look at my stats over the last year, it’s not been that bad. It’s been close. I went out in two majors this year, kind of, you know, if things don’t — if I have a great day, I’ve got a chance, which is not necessarily a bad thing on Sundays.
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“Yeah, it’s been an nearly — there’s been a lot of ‘nearly’ golf in there. But I think I’m mature enough and been around long enough to know that three or four months of bad golf — or average results, is not going to make or break your career. You need to ride the wave and fight your way through it and that’s what I feel like I’m doing.”
Golf is a notoriously frustrating sport, and one that requires immense patience over months and years. Lowry has come close on a number of occasions this season, so if he sticks to it then another win should be right around the corner.
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